Waynesburg’s youth powers historic win

Raiders topple Seneca Valley for first WPIAL team championship in 31 years

It was appropriate that a freshman clinched Waynesburg’s first WPIAL wrestling team title in 31 years Saturday at the Class 3A tournament at Norwin High School.

The Raiders lineup featured all underclassmen, including four freshmen, three of whom posted victories in a 33-30 victory against Seneca Valley in a match decided in the final bout.

“I’m not surprised,” said Waynesburg coach Joe Throckmorton. “I knew from the beginning of the season what this team was capable of. Everybody else was surprised. They made history today.”

The Raiders also qualified for the PIAA team tournament for the first time in school history.

“It’s awesome,” said Waynesburg freshman Eli Makel, who provided the deciding points with a pin of Seneca Valley’s Marshall Adamson in the 170-pound final. “Waynesburg has never made it to the state team tournament. We qualified with our semifinal win, but winning our first WPIAL title in 31 years makes it even sweeter.”

Seneca Valley was making its second consecutive appearance in the final and jumped to a 21-10 advantage with pins by Liam Volk-Klos (182), David Beahm (285) and Dylan Chappell (120).

Waynesburg freshman Rocco Welsh followed with a pin of Evan Vetter at 126 to cut Seneca Valley’s advantage to 21-16.

Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera-Rondon responded with a 6-0 win over Cole Homet, but Waynesburg was penalized one point when Homet threw his headgear. That left the score at 24-15 with five bouts to go.

Seneca Valley forfeited to Wyatt Henson at 138, then picked up those 6 points when Chanz Shearer pinned Waynesburg’s Colton Stoneking at 145. That gave Seneca Valley a 31-20 advantage.

Waynesburg began its comeback with a 3-2 decision by Nate Stephenson over Antonio Amelio at 152. Luca Augustine followed with an 8-4 decision of Drew Vlasnik to cut Seneca Valley’s lead to 30-27, setting up Makel’s decisive win.

“I knew I needed to pick up at least a major,” Makel said. “I was kind of nervous, but I used my nerves to fuel me. I had faith. I wrestled him at the Powerade Junior High tournament and beat him, 9-2.”

Waynesburg, the top seed, earned its first trip to the final since 2004 with a 37-33 win over No. 4 Hempfield. The match was not as close as the final score indicated, as the Raiders forfeited the final three bouts after building a commanding 37-15 lead.

Henson (138), Augustine (170) and Darnell Johnson (182) recorded pins for Waynesburg. The key bout came at 113 pounds, as Raiders freshman Nate Jones scored a five-point move in overtime to upset Briar Priest, 13-8.

Seneca Valley earned its return trip to the final with a 31-30 victory over CanonMcMillan in a semifinal match that was decided in the final bout. Drew Vlasnik provided the deciding points with an 8-1 win over the Big Macs’ Blake Joseph at 160 pounds.

“Just to make it here to the WPIAL final four is pretty tough,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Wildrick said. “There are so many good teams. It hurts even more to lose in the finals two years in a row.”

Waynesburg, Seneca Valley and Canon-McMillan qualified for the PIAA tournament, which begins Monday. Canon-McMillan will face City League champion Carrick Monday in a preliminary-round match. Waynesburg and Seneca Valley have a bye until the first round Thursday at Hershey, Pa.

Canon-McMillan earned its fifth consecutive PIAA berth with a 41-16 win over Hempfield.